Rudy Carpenter

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter was unable to throw in practice because of swelling in his sprained right thumb. But Coach Dennis Erickson said Carpenter is almost certain to play Saturday when the sixth-ranked Sun Devils visit No. 4 Oregon. Carpenter took snaps and handed off but didn't throw Tuesday, his first practice since he sprained the thumb handing off to tailback Keegan Herring in a 31-20 victory over California last Saturday. "He couldn't throw," Erickson said.

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz. -- USC's near decade of dominance in what has become the Pacific 12 Conference was not without Trojans missteps and major upsets. From 2000 to 2010, USC lost to nearly every team that made up the former configuration of the conference. Every team except one. USC has defeated Arizona State 11 consecutive times, a streak the No. 23 Trojans hope to extend tonight at Sun Devil Stadium. Linebacker Chris Galippo, a usually insightful fifth-year senior, came up empty when asked if he had any theories to explain the Trojans' domination of the Sun Devils.

Kevin Riley passed for 202 yards and two second-half touchdowns, and Shane Vereen broke an 81-yard scoring run with 4:21 left in California's 38-31 home victory over Michigan State on Saturday night. Jahvid Best rushed for 111 yards and a score, and tight end Cameron Morrah and fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou caught Riley's touchdown passes in a solid debut for the Golden Bears' new collection of starting offensive skill players. Brian Hoyer passed for 321 yards, hooking up with Mark Dell for nine catches and 202 yards, the fifth-most yardage total for a receiver in Michigan State history.

Jahvid Best and his California teammates were wide awake from the start of their rematch against Maryland. Best ran 73 yards for one of his two first-quarter touchdowns and the 12th-ranked Golden Bears opened their season by avenging a September loss to the Terrapins last year with a 52-13 victory Saturday night at Berkeley. Kevin Riley added a career-high four touchdown passes for the Bears, who jumped on top, 45-6, in a drastic turnabout from last year's meeting won by Maryland 35-27.

As the new guy at Washington State, Coach Paul Wulff sounds a bit overwhelmed, as if he needs a few more weeks to get his team ready. "It's a little surreal," Wulff said. "Still feels like things aren't completely settled." But football waits for no man. Not when the schedule lists a full slate of games from Thursday night through Monday, the start of the Pacific 10 Conference's 93rd season. Complete story, D8. On your marks No time for easing into shape, no chance to scout the competition -- the race for the Rose Bowl gets off to a Le Mans start for four teams scrambling directly into conference play.

Rudy Carpenter threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night to lead No. 15 Arizona State to a 41-17 victory over Stanford in Tempe, Ariz. Facing relentless pressure on a 100-degree night in the desert, Carpenter completed 27 of 36 passes and had a pass intercepted. He was sacked twice and fumbled once. Carpenter has thrown for a school-record 733 yards in the first two games. The Sun Devils, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference, won the last two meetings with Stanford by a combined score of 79-6, but this one was tighter, at least for three quarters.

Reporting from Tempe, Ariz. -- USC's near decade of dominance in what has become the Pacific 12 Conference was not without Trojans missteps and major upsets. From 2000 to 2010, USC lost to nearly every team that made up the former configuration of the conference. Every team except one. USC has defeated Arizona State 11 consecutive times, a streak the No. 23 Trojans hope to extend tonight at Sun Devil Stadium. Linebacker Chris Galippo, a usually insightful fifth-year senior, came up empty when asked if he had any theories to explain the Trojans' domination of the Sun Devils.

Defensive tackle Fili Moala had a busy day in eighth-ranked USC's 28-0 victory over Arizona State on Saturday at the Coliseum. Moala recovered a fumble, preserved the shutout by blocking two third-quarter field-goal attempts and made three tackles. Moala tied an NCAA record with his two blocks in the same quarter. "We knew they were weak up front and we just took it to our advantage," Moala said. Moala blocked Thomas Weber's attempt from 29 yards with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter and then blocked a 48-yard attempt about two minutes later.

It's called "makeup" speed. You need it in your secondary, but you also need it on your schedule. Some schools have it; others call Fresno home. Here's a damage assessment on how recent losses might impact the hopes and dreams of schools that had hopes and dreams. Sun may rise Arizona State. This program has always performed better when no one's looking . . . and now no one's looking. Saturday's overtime home loss to Nevada Las Vegas knocked Arizona State from No. 15 to O-U-T of the Associated Press media poll and took two quarts of luster off this week's game against No. 3 Georgia.

Defensive tackle Fili Moala had a busy day in eighth-ranked USC's 28-0 victory over Arizona State on Saturday at the Coliseum. Moala recovered a fumble, preserved the shutout by blocking two third-quarter field-goal attempts and made three tackles. Moala tied an NCAA record with his two blocks in the same quarter. "We knew they were weak up front and we just took it to our advantage," Moala said. Moala blocked Thomas Weber's attempt from 29 yards with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter and then blocked a 48-yard attempt about two minutes later.

It's called "makeup" speed. You need it in your secondary, but you also need it on your schedule. Some schools have it; others call Fresno home. Here's a damage assessment on how recent losses might impact the hopes and dreams of schools that had hopes and dreams. Sun may rise Arizona State. This program has always performed better when no one's looking . . . and now no one's looking. Saturday's overtime home loss to Nevada Las Vegas knocked Arizona State from No. 15 to O-U-T of the Associated Press media poll and took two quarts of luster off this week's game against No. 3 Georgia.

Rudy Carpenter threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night to lead No. 15 Arizona State to a 41-17 victory over Stanford in Tempe, Ariz. Facing relentless pressure on a 100-degree night in the desert, Carpenter completed 27 of 36 passes and had a pass intercepted. He was sacked twice and fumbled once. Carpenter has thrown for a school-record 733 yards in the first two games. The Sun Devils, 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference, won the last two meetings with Stanford by a combined score of 79-6, but this one was tighter, at least for three quarters.

Kevin Riley passed for 202 yards and two second-half touchdowns, and Shane Vereen broke an 81-yard scoring run with 4:21 left in California's 38-31 home victory over Michigan State on Saturday night. Jahvid Best rushed for 111 yards and a score, and tight end Cameron Morrah and fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou caught Riley's touchdown passes in a solid debut for the Golden Bears' new collection of starting offensive skill players. Brian Hoyer passed for 321 yards, hooking up with Mark Dell for nine catches and 202 yards, the fifth-most yardage total for a receiver in Michigan State history.

As the new guy at Washington State, Coach Paul Wulff sounds a bit overwhelmed, as if he needs a few more weeks to get his team ready. "It's a little surreal," Wulff said. "Still feels like things aren't completely settled." But football waits for no man. Not when the schedule lists a full slate of games from Thursday night through Monday, the start of the Pacific 10 Conference's 93rd season. Complete story, D8. On your marks No time for easing into shape, no chance to scout the competition -- the race for the Rose Bowl gets off to a Le Mans start for four teams scrambling directly into conference play.

The words "crybaby" and "whiner" come immediately to mind. Rudy Carpenter suggests these and other names that critics might attach to him. He says: "People don't understand . . . they never will." Not that the Arizona State quarterback seems unduly concerned. At midday earlier this week, he appears perfectly at ease in a T-shirt and sweat pants, hair fashionably ruffled.

Jahvid Best and his California teammates were wide awake from the start of their rematch against Maryland. Best ran 73 yards for one of his two first-quarter touchdowns and the 12th-ranked Golden Bears opened their season by avenging a September loss to the Terrapins last year with a 52-13 victory Saturday night at Berkeley. Kevin Riley added a career-high four touchdown passes for the Bears, who jumped on top, 45-6, in a drastic turnabout from last year's meeting won by Maryland 35-27.

The words "crybaby" and "whiner" come immediately to mind. Rudy Carpenter suggests these and other names that critics might attach to him. He says: "People don't understand . . . they never will." Not that the Arizona State quarterback seems unduly concerned. At midday earlier this week, he appears perfectly at ease in a T-shirt and sweat pants, hair fashionably ruffled.

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter was unable to throw in practice because of swelling in his sprained right thumb. But Coach Dennis Erickson said Carpenter is almost certain to play Saturday when the sixth-ranked Sun Devils visit No. 4 Oregon. Carpenter took snaps and handed off but didn't throw Tuesday, his first practice since he sprained the thumb handing off to tailback Keegan Herring in a 31-20 victory over California last Saturday. "He couldn't throw," Erickson said.